Olympics hopeful victim of alleged attempted carjacking

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A runner who just arrived in Houston to try out for the Olympics and his wife may have just become the victim of an attempted carjacking.

This all happened Wednesday evening at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The course is all set for Saturday, and a lot of those elite runners are arriving, but it wasn't a warm welcome for one of them and his family.

Josh Cox and his wife Carrie and their 10-month-old son had just arrived in Houston when they say they became victims of an attempted carjacking.

As they were driving away in their rental car, the couple says a man approached them. Josh says his wife was driving and he was navigating.

"The entire time he was walking up to the car. He had his hand in his jacket and I said no, no, no, go, go, go and then she just punched it and we went through, went across the road," Josh said. "We thought it was done but then the guy came up in his car and was waving his arms and turned on his light inside and he was waving something. It looked like a badge or something but we don't know what it was."

"That gentleman had his hands in his pocket far too long with a big puffy jacket. We had no idea what he was going to pull out," Carrie said.

"We have no idea what his intentions were but we weren't going to hang around and find out," Josh said. "We have a lot of people praying for this trip. I'm here for the Olympics tryouts this Saturday and God was looking out for us, kept us safe and just happy to make it out unscathed."

Carrie's father is a retired law enforcement officer. He told them they did exactly what they were supposed to do. They were on the phone with 911 for about seven minutes.

Josh says the experience was quite an adrenaline rush and now he's going to have a good story to share, but he says he remains very focused on Saturday and he's hoping to qualify for the London Olympics.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Car chase suspect allegedly attempts carjacking

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police have arrested a man who first led them on a car chase in southeast Houston then allegedly attempted to carjack a woman in a last ditch attempt to evade authorities.

The chase ended shortly before 7:30pm Friday in the parking lot of the Houston Community College campus off the Gulf Freeway and Rustic, where investigators say the man then tried to carjack someone.

The scene was teeming with HPD squad cars after a group of friends who were getting ready for a night out on the town encountered an uninvited guest who'd been running from police.

"If he would have come up to me, I would have hit him in the eye with it," witness Frank DelaPortilla said while holding a car key between his fingers.

DelaPortilla says he had every intention of defending himself from the man who tried to steal his friend's daughter's SUV while she was still in the driver's seat.

"I was on the other side. I didn't know he had come back this way," he said.

Brenda Rodriguez was too upset to talk but DelaPortilla says the unidentified man startled the group while they were waiting in the parking lot of Houston Community College for another friend who happened to be HCC's president. They chose this spot as a meeting place before heading downtown to a gala.

"We saw the helicopter put the light on him over there and then he got off of it and started running this way and then he came in here," witness Frank Partida said.

The suspect had been on the run from police after a routine traffic stop. He dumped his truck near HCC after leading police on a high-speed chase for about eight miles and zig-zagging through the streets of east Houston. At one point, he was spotted driving the wrong on the Gulf Freeway; that's when the officers in pursuit backed off.

"Our policy is very clear, restrictions on chases driving the wrong way on the service road and freeway are definitely one of many reasons to terminate the pursuit," Houston Police Department Lt. David Angelo said.

The suspect was taken into custody and police say they had to shock him a Taser because he was resisting arrest.

DelaPortilla is grateful no one was hurt.

"We're going out to have a nice time, have some supper and whatever and all of the sudden this happens," DelaPortilla said.

Police have not released the driver's name. While it's unclear what charge he will face, Angelo told us he has a criminal history.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Man shot during alleged carjacking in NE Houston

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston police are investigating an alleged aggravated carjacking in northeast Houston.

It happened on Haywood Street at Peachtree Street just before 8pm.

According to police, a man was working on his car when two black men shot him and stole the vehicle.

The victim was transported to an area hospital and is expected to recover, officials said.

Police are working to track down the suspects. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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New car owner shot during attempted carjacking

Police are trying to track down the suspects who shot a man in his own driveway while trying to steal one of his brand new cars

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Harris County deputy constables want to find the suspects who shot a man in his own driveway.

It happened around 11:15pm Saturday at the victim's home on Roydencrest, near Dawn Lilly in northwest Harris County.

Deputies say a family was returning home from a car dealership where they had just bought two new cars. The victim was in one car and his wife and child were in another car.

As soon as the man's family went inside the house, the suspects ambushed him and tried to steal one of his brand new vehicles. They shot him once in the chest.

Constables believe the suspects followed the family home from the dealership.

The man is expected to survive. The shooters remain on the loose.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

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Two men wanted in armed carjacking in NW Harris Co.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Crime Stoppers and Harris County Sheriff's Office investigators need your help to identify those wanted in connection with a carjacking and armed robbery last month.

On April 29 at around 9pm, the victim was leaving a mall in the 29300 block of the Northwest Freeway. As he was loading shopping bags into his car, investigators say a man approached him from behind and pulled out a gun.

The suspect reportedly forced the victim to get into the passenger's side of the car while the suspect got into the driver's seat. Deputies say the suspect drove the victim's vehicle to the bank, where the suspect tried to use the victim's ATM card to get cash.

While the suspect was distracted, investigators say the victim was able to escape and run for help. The suspect fled in the victim's vehicle, which was found abandoned the next day.

The victim's stolen card was used at a nearby gas station. Surveillance video captured images of two suspects in a newer model Gray Dodge Charger. The car's license plates were covered with duct tape.

After an investigation, detectives determined the same two suspects were likely the same men responsible for another armed robbery near the 12000 block of F.M. 1960. They say the suspects attempted to rob a couple as they were loading their groceries. The couple fought with the armed suspect. He fled from the scene and was picked up by a newer model gray Dodge Charger.

One suspect is described as a black male, between 20 and 30 years of age, standing between 6-feet and 6-foot-2, weighing between 180 and 200 pounds with patchy facial hair, a fade haircut and dark complexion. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

The second suspect is described as a black male, between 17 and 25 years of age, standing between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-11, weighing between 150-160 pounds, with facial hair and a dark complexion. He was wearing a white shirt, red shorts and white tennis shoes.

The suspect vehicle is described as a newer model gray Dodge Charger.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for any information called in to the 713-222-TIPS (8477) or submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org that leads to the filing of felony charges or arrest of the suspects in this case. Tips can also be sent by text message. Text TIP610 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637). All tipsters remain anonymous.

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Carjacking goes awry with baby in tow

BAYTOWN, TX (KTRK) -- A baby was caught in the middle of a carjacking and wild police chase Thursday that ended along the East Freeway at Eastpoint.

This chase apparently began in Crosby after police tell us a man carjacked a woman in her driveway, taking her Jeep. Once police and sheriff's deputies found that Jeep, the driver bailed out and got into a Suburban, which in turn gave chase. Police, once they found that Suburban, ending up following it all the way to a couple of car dealerships where it ended up crashing. Deputies got quite a surprise when they looked inside.

In the back of the Suburban during the long and dangerous police chase was an infant girl. We talked with the suspect claiming to be her mother and a juvenile as they sat handcuffed in the back of a deputy's car. The mother was in tears and nearly speechless.

"I was in the back of the seat, sir, and all these bumps and stuff started going. I didn't know, sir, what was going on. I feel like I shouldn't get in trouble, neither one of us should," the boy told Eyewitness News. "I'm 14, sir."

The mother asked us, "Can you take care of my baby, sir?"

When they crashed, deputies say the teenager and three adults bailed out, leaving the baby in the Suburban. Dealership employees helped catch one of the suspects as he tried to run.

Employee Matt Paradeaux said, "We weren't really going after him until we got over there and saw that there was no cops, so they could get away. "

"We chased them around to the side," said employee Craig Johnson. "He stopped running when he seen he was out of options and that me and Omar had him in our sights."

Omar Munoz stopped him with his car.

The adults and the teen are now in custody. The baby is with her grandmother and aunt.

Sgt. Wiley Hogue with the Harris County Sheriff's Office said, "All four suspects bailed out. They literally abandoned their child. The K-9 was the actual primary unit to pursue. He deployed his canine and captured the driver. Baytown units arrived a short time later and also the car dealership folks helped out. "

Sgt. Hogue tells Eyewitness News deputies never knew that child was in the SUV. They couldn't see the car seat until the chase was over. He adds that even though it's not policy, and would have been a judgment call, if he would have known about the infant in the back, given the weather conditions and the roads the way they were, they probably would have stopped pursuing. Fortunately nobody was hurt -- even that baby is OK.

The susepcts has been identified as 41-year-old Scott Aaron Fancher, 19-year-old David Pappas and 18-year-old Courtney Fancher. All three suspects have been charged with felony evading. Scott Fancher and Pappas also face felony robbery by threat.

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